Wilmington man sues after e-cigarette battery explodes in his pants

Delaware Vapor, located at 2710 Philadelphia Pike, is being sued after a battery they sold exploded in the pocket of a Wilmington-area man, according to court documents.(Photo: JENNIFER CORBETT/THE NEWS JOURNAL)Buy Photo

A Wilmington-area man who was injured when an e-cigarette battery exploded in his pants is suing the Claymont vapor shop where he made the purchase.

Charles Hobbs' leg was severely burned when the spare battery he purchased early last year exploded as he carried it in a pocket of his pants. Now Hobbs claims Delaware Vapor, located at 2710 Philadelphia Pike, failed to provide adequate warning of the battery's dangers.

He also argues the store should not have sold an unsafe product.

"The idea is when you sell me a product, even if you don't expressly warrant anything, just by you selling it to me, there is this implied warranty that it's good for its intended purpose," said John Culhane, H. Albert Young Fellow in Constitutional Law at Widener University Delaware Law School. "That basically means that the thing shouldn't be exploding."

In October of that year, Hobbs, along with his wife and their two children, attended a food truck festival in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains. That's when one of the batteries "suddenly exploded in his pocket causing extensive burns to his lower extremities," the civil suit claims.

Hobbs was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital's burn center in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, where he was treated for third-degree burns to his left thigh. This required extensive skin grafting. He was an inpatient at the burn center for two weeks and was out of work several months.

Hobbs' attorney, Timothy E. Lengkeek, said the battery did not come with a warning that it may explode, nor was his client warned. While Delaware Vapor is the only defendant named in the suit at the moment, others may be added as the case unfolds, Lengkeek said.

Wilmington Attorney Timothy E. Lengkeek represents a man suing a vapor shop who sold an e-cigarette battery that exploded in his client's pants.(Photo: SUBMITTED)

Under Delaware law, the claim can be brought not only directly against the person who sold the product, but the manufacturer and anyone in the chain of distribution.

Hobbs seeks general, punitive and special damages, including pain and suffering.

Problems with electronic cigarettes began making headlines nationwide last year after reports surfaced of devices exploding in users' pockets or close to their faces, leaving painful burns.

This includes a Kentucky man who was hospitalized in February 2016, after an e-cigarette battery exploded in his pocket. Josh Hamilton was waiting in line at a Shell gas station in Owensboro, Kentucky, when the pocket of his pants exploded. In the security footage, flames shoot out of his pant leg as he tries to beat the fire out.

A Kentucky man was hospitalized on Saturday after an e-cigarette battery exploded in his pocket.(Photo: USA TODAY)

A 2014 report by the U.S. Fire Administration noted that more than 2.5 million Americans use e-cigarettes, and that the devices were increasing in popularity. While fires and explosions are "rare," the report read, 80 percent of these incidents occurred while the battery was charging. At of the time of the report, 25 such incidents were recorded by the agency between 2009 and August 2014.

Culhane, who is not involved in the lawsuit, said that reports of unsafe products shouldn't disqualify someone from being able to file a lawsuit.

"Just the fact that these things have done this in the past really isn't going to disqualify you," Culhane said. "If anything, it's a reason why the product shouldn't be on the market."